5 Things You Can Start NOW to Up Your Health Game

Developing healthy lifestyle habits take time. Many people attempt to adopt everything at once, become overwhelmed and give up. Taking smaller steps toward a healthy lifestyle will help you ease in and can lead to long-term success. Try these 5 things below and you will start to FEEL the effects of a healthier lifestyle and want MORE!

1) Go to bed early!

Get at least 8 hours of sleep to: reduce inflammation, regulate the stress hormone cortisol, increase energy, sex drive, awareness, focus, productivity and reduce hunger by regulating the hormone leptin (the satiety hormone).

2) Gratitude

Each morning, choose an activity to do while thinking about 10 things you are thankful for and saying them aloud or setting your intention on them in your head. Make your bed while saying them, meditate on them, brush your teeth while thinking of them ....... just do it everyday! Starting your day with positive thoughts sets an intention and direction for your entire day. This exercise can help alleviate stress and can improve moods and thus - keep the stress hormone from wreaking havoc on your body!

3) Replace one meal with nutrient-dense foods

Living by a 90/10; 90% healthy, nutrient dense foods and 10% 'fun foods' is a great lifestyle to live for overall health. However, many people struggle with this at first. Keep it simple and start with just replacing one meal. If your breakfast is usually pop tarts or toaster strudel; instead try 2 pastured eggs with a slice or two of organic, uncured bacon and fresh fruit! The aroma of eggs and bacon cooking will help wake up your senses and the fats will help keep you satiated for the morning rather than a crash from simple sugars in more processed, sugar filled breakfast foods.

4) Schedule in activity

It is so easy to just skip the gym or allow other things in life to take priority over your workouts. But by actually scheduling in active time for YOU, you are 90% more likely to do it! If mornings work best for you, create space in your calendar for a morning workout, brisk walk, swim....whatever you enjoy. If evenings are your thing - that works too! Set reminder alarms and get to it!

5) Take a probiotic

Probiotics are full of 'good bacteria' that help your gut health. 80% of your immune system is within your digestive system, thus why ensuring you have a good balance of good and bad bacteria, which is needed for normal bodily function, is a good thing. Probiotics not only boost your immune system, but also aid in digestion, regularity and help heal inflammation caused by toxins and processed foods/drinks. My favorite probiotic is Prescript-Assist which is a soil based and does not require refrigeration.

~ tNutritionista